Handicapped people that are limited to use solely their upper body parts are limited to vehicles having hand operated actuating systems. Car conversion systems in which the accelerator and the brake pedals are hand-operated are known in the art. Mostly, add-on systems are provided with operating lever or levers that is engaged with both accelerating pedal and the brake pedal of the car wherein push and pull operations are operated by the hands of the driver. The challenge in engineering and designing such systems lie in the limited space beneath the steering wheel.
There is a long felt need to provide a driving accessory for the handicapped in which the acceleration and brake pedals are hand actuated that is easily operable by push-pull levers. Moreover, there is a need to provide a system that is provided within the space between the pedals and the hand area of the driver without limiting or restricting this space so as to allow a conveniently positioned system.
For disabled persons there have been developed various driving control systems by means of which it is possible to drive a vehicle using only the hands. The known solutions have a drawback that it is difficult and time-consuming to mount the driving control system to the vehicle. Moreover, it takes a skilled mechanic to mount the system and changes are often required in the cabin structures of the vehicle.
WO2006051532 discloses a hand-operated system for actuating acceleration and brake pedals in a vehicle. The system comprises a main body adapted to be fixedly attached to the vehicle in the vicinity of the driver's hands, a handle connected to the main body wherein the handle is adapted to be moved forwardly and backwardly in order to operate the vehicle; two levers pivotally connected to the main body wherein the levers are engaged with the acceleration and brake pedals through connecting rods; and a cable connecting the lever that actuate the acceleration pedal.
WO2006108925 discloses a driving control device, wherein the lower ends of the operating bars of the driving control device may be attached to the pedals of the vehicle, and the upper ends thereof may be supported in the transverse direction with a mounting piece. The mounting piece comprises a pliable attachment strap that may be tightened around the steering column with a mechanical tightening mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,281 B1 driving control device for a vehicle, the driving control device comprising: a brake bar having in a first end attaching means for attachment to a brake pedal of the vehicle, said brake bar having in a second end a joint to a handle bar; a handle bar for transversely supporting the brake bar at the joint of the brake bar, said handle bar provided with means for electronically regulating the speed of the vehicle, said handle bar provided with a handle in the first end, and attachment means in the second end of the handle bar; and where the attachment means includes a locking mechanism. Meanwhile, the locking mechanism requires that the device is fixedly attached somewhere in the vicinity of the steering column and is not easy to detach.
The devices described in the prior art suffers from several drawbacks, in particular the time consuming procedure for installing the devices in the car. This is a major problem for the rental car business that is legally obliged to offer cars for disabled persons. Hence, a quick and safe solution for installing such devices is needed. Moreover, there is a need for a device, which ensures that simultaneous braking and acceleration of the car cannot be performed by the driver.